The Thin Line
by LadyShadowNinja18
Summary: There is a thin line between love and hate and Damon of all people should know that, but he's about to be tested again on what it truly means to love and what it means to hate.
1. Prologue: Italian Renaissance

_AN: I know i'm suppose to be writing one of my Twilight fanfictions...and i've been MIA forever...but it was time to let life go tto the background and work on something and i got a new idea. I hope you like it :)_

_Disclaimers: The Italian, i'm sure is butchered...i don't speak it and so i used a translator...therefore i'm sure it's not perfect. sorry :/_

**The Thin Line**

by, FaithfullyTeamEdward1

**Prologue: Italian Renaissance **

Sergio Vitale. He was the richest man in Palermo, Italy. Tall, dark, handsome and mysterious as he was, he was the man every woman dreamed of having as a suitor. Every mother wished for their daughters to catch his eye. The people of Palermo worshipped the ground he walked on, but not Arianna Oliviero. While all of her friends giggled and whispered behind their hands, Adrianna turned and ignored the gossip and giggles. She felt that he was arrogant and couldn't stand that. Not to mention he was a living scandal. Everyone knew he lived with the beautiful Katarina Petrova, but they were not married. That was frowned upon, but nobody thought anything of it because it was Sergio Vitale and Katarina Petrova.

Arianna's indifference to Sergio was exactly what caught his attention. She was thirteen when he began to court her. But after three years, he'd still gotten nowhere…

* * *

"_Arianna Veronica Sofia Ines Oliviero venire qui _(come here)_!" _Arianna's father yelled irritably from the kitchen where he was seated at the table. Her mother was standing at the wood stove, placing wood into the fire, singing quietly to herself.

_"Sì padre _(yes father)_?" _Arianna asked, not reacting to the way he called her in. She was used to her father being irritable about everything, and she already had a feeing she knew exactly what he was going to say.

"_Sedersi_ (sit down)," he ordered. Arianna did as he said and sat in silence, awaiting the conversation she knew was coming.

"_Lei desidera non onorare la famiglia?_ (Do you wish to dishonor the family)"

Arianna looked down at her lap where her hands were folded, _"No signore. _(no sir)_"_

_"Guardarmi!_ (look at me)_" _he yelled. Arianan's deep brown eyes shot up instantly to look her father in the eyes. He was drunk again, that was obvious. Her father's eyes were bloodshot and his pudgy face was red, almost purple. "_Lei sposerà Sergio Vitale!_ (You will marry Sergio Vitale)" His eyes were dialated as he glared at his daughter.

"_No_," Arianna replied quietly. That was the last straw for her father. He stood, and though he was a short man, he rose with all the fury he could muster. Arianna's shoulders tensed as her father stepped towardss her. His strike came too fast for her to do much else but yelp. Her face snapped sideways and tears welled in her eyes from the sting of her father's blow to her face.

"_Lei mi obbedirà!_ (You will obey me)" he demanded angrily. When Arianna said nothing, he snapped. Lunging forward, he grabbed his daughter around the neck, knocking her of the chair and throwing them both to the ground. _Signora _Oliviero turned at the racket and started screaming for her husband to stop, but he continued to choke Arianna.

Tears streamed from Arianna'seyes and she struggled to get out from under him, with no success. That just angered her father further and as a result, he began bashing her in the side of the head. She yelpedand tried harder to get away. Arianna was scared. Her father had hit her before, but he'd never attacked her in such a way as that.

"_L'aiuto, Mamma!_ (Help, mama!)" Arianna whimpered.

But her mother just stood there, shocked into silence, wringing her hands. After, Arianna could no longer speak because her father had covered her mouth with his fat hand. Seeing a chance to escape, Arianna bit down hard on his hand and scuttled out from under him as he recoiled from the bite. Gasping, she gathered her skirts and ran for the ditchen door. Unfortuantely, for a fat man, her father was quick and grabbed herbefore she could make it out the door. The small man threw her against the wall with as much force as he could and began hitting her again, screaming, "_Come osarla è corso! _(How dare you run)"

"_Papà, la fermata!_ (Papa, stop)" she plead.

He grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her roughly. That's when Arianna realized she was bleeding. Blood dripped from her nose and the side of her head. It dripped, staining her dress and onto her father's shirt.

"_Papà, per favore!_ (Papa, please)" Her voice was fading into nothing.

But he didn't stop. He just continued to punch and shake her. As she struggled, strength fading and becoming aware of the bruises rising on her face and body that he was inflicting, she forgot about the opening that led into the cellar. Just as she thought he was going to give up and she was starting to black out, her father shoved her backwards. Screaming and grabbing for something to hold onto, her fingers found nothing. Falling down the stars into the cellar, Arianna's world went black...


	2. Chapter 1: Mystic Falls Present Day

_AN: So, Damon is a little OOC in this chapter. I'm still getting a feel for how to write each of these characters because, though sarcasm is soemthing that comes naturally to me, WITTY sarcasm and IRONIC sarcasm are a little more difficult, but i promise it'll get better. I think Elena is a little OOC as well. But i hope you enjoy it despite that fact :)_

_Disclaimer: I am following the t.v. series and NOT the books because i only read the first one (i couldn't stand the writing)...so i not own the characters, or all the storyline points. But i do own a couple of the characters to come. ENJOY! and please review! =D_

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Chapter One: Mystic Falls (Present Day)

Elena's temper was boiling as Damon led her out of the tomb. Every vain in her body was a live wire, burning from the heat of her blood. Stefan was trapped in the tomb with Katherine and Damon wouldn't let her do anything about it. Everything was growing more and more irritating, what with Damon dragging her home from Richmond, coming home to find out Jeremy had been kept captive by Katherine and now Stefan was captured by the barrier keeping Katherine in. She just couldn't take anymore.

Damon had a firm grip on Elena's forearm as he pulled her up the stone steps, out of the church tomb. His nostrils were flared, eyes squinted and body was tense, the same way Elena was. He couldn't stand the thought that his younger brother was trapped with that bitch. After everything Stefan had done for him, Damon was basically helpless to do anything for him.

The sun had gone down and the only light was coming from the stars, an almost full moon and the headlights of Elena's car. As they made their way to the vehicle, Elena attempted to pull free of Damon's grip, but he would not let up his grasp. Stefan had asked him to keep her safe, and that was exactly what he intended to do. If she thought he was letting her out of his sight, she was wrong.

"Damon," Elena grunted, "let go of me!"

She jerked her arm again, trying to pull away, but Damon just pulled her back into his side.

He opened the car door as the breeze began to pick up, and snapped his hand away from her. Motioning for her to get into the car, he said, "Happy now?"

Brown eyes glared at him.

"No," she mumbled.

The vampire sighed. Elena could be so stubborn sometimes. He knew she was upset about Stefan, but he needed her to cooperate if he was going to keep her out of harm's way. Not only did he need to keep her away from the tomb, but he had to make sure she didn't make any more stupid decisions and keep Klaus away from her. He'd never had an aversion to protecting Elena; it was just that she made it a chore.

When she moved to go back to the tomb, Damon stepped in front of her, putting a finger up to stop her.

"Not so fast there, Elena. You're coming with me." He motioned again to the open car door. Elena stood there and glared up at Damon, placing her hands on her hips. Damon stared back at her evenly, waiting for her to get into the car. After a few minutes, Elena huffed out an angry breath and backed up, and then slipping into the passenger seat, she slammed the door behind her.

Shaking his head, Damon moved around the vehicle and got into the driver's seat. The drive back to Elena's house was silent. They didn't say a word to each other, but the tension was tangible as it hung in the air between them. The air was thick with it. Elena rode with her arms crossed tightly across her chest and she was glaring out the side window. Every few seconds, Damon would glance over at her, but she never loosened her arms or looked away from the side.

A block away, Damon pulled the car over and turned it off turning to face Elena. He placed an elbow on the passenger seat.

"Elena, please look at me," he said softly.

Her chin came up indignantly and she continued to not face him. "I know what you're doing Damon. You think you can just bat your eyes at me and everything will be ok!" Her fists curled and then slammed down on the dash. She whipped her face around to face him, eyes blazing. "But they aren't! You can't fix this just by saying it'll be ok, or by batting your eyes!"

"Elena-" Damon tried to interject, but she wouldn't let him get a word in.

"No Damon! Stefan is _trapped_ in that tomb! He is _trapped_ and we have no idea how to get him out!"

Damon could see tears started to well up in her eyes. She continued to rant and rant until Damon put his hands on the side of her face.

"Elena, Elena, Elena, calm down," He said, trying to calm her down. Tears were dripping down her face by now and she was shaking from crying. "Look at me, Elena."

It took a minute, but she finally looked up from her lap to look him in the eyes. They were haunted, but determined.

"I _promise_ you, Elena, we'll find a way to get my brother out of there," he said with as much sincerity as he had the last time he'd said he'd save Stefan. With that tone and the look in his eyes, Elena had to believe him. But she still had her doubts.

"How do y-you plan t-to d-do that?" She asked between sniffles. Damon attempted a smile, but it just turned out uncharacteristically sad. He reached around Elena then and she allowed him to pull her into a hug.

Stroking her back to comfort her, he said, "I don't know yet, but between you me and that little witch, I'm positive we'll figure something out. As much as I hate to admit it, we all make a good team. We can't not come up with something."

Pulling away, Elena gave a tiny grin.

"I hope you're right."

"When I am not?" He asked, smiling smugly.

Thunder rolled in the background and rain began pouring down, hammering the car's windshield with its bullet drops. Once Elena was calmed down, Damon turned the car back on and drove her the last block home. As soon as he pulled into the drive way and parked the vehicle, he was out with an umbrella over Elena's door to shield her from the rain.

Elena glanced suspiciously at him, but climbed out and thanked him nonetheless.

"Can't have you catching pneumonia, now can we? Stefan would kill me."

At Stefan's name, Elena shot him a sad look as they reached the covered porch. Demon raised his hands in a motion of surrender. "Sorry, sorry."

Hand on the knob, ready to go in, Elena sighed and turned back to face Damon. She didn't smile because she was using all her strength to hold herself together, but she did look him in the eyes.

"Thank you Damon," she said. Damon didn't smile either, but he nodded.

"Anything for you, Elena," he whispered, almost inaudibly.

A hint of a smile lifted her lips and before she could make a conscious decision, she leaned into Damon and hugged him tightly, arms wrapping around his neck and burying her face in his neck. Slightly surprised, Damon coiled his arms around her waist, pulling her tight. He rested his face in her hair and caught her scent. It made him thirsty, but could never hurt her and he knew it. She just smelled good.

Releasing her after an extended hug, he stepped away from her. "Well, you should probably go inside," he told her. Elena nodded.

"Goodnight Damon." Opening the door, she slipped in without another word.

"Goodnight Elena," he whispered to himself before disappearing into the dark and the rain.

3~3~3

Stefan continued to lean with one arm on the stone wall as he watched Damon escort Elena out and away from the tomb. He sighed and leaned his forehead into the stone. Katherine stepped up behind him. Without hesitation, she wrapped her greedy arms around his torso, moving her hand along his chest. Immediately Stefan recoiled and was at the other end of the tomb. His shoulders were tense, but he maintained the calm exterior appearance.

"What's wrong Stefan?" Katherine asked with false innocence saturating year voice. She cocked her head to the side, smirked and drank in the image of Stefan with her almost black, greedy eyes. "I remember when you just couldn't get enough of me," she taunted.

Her words were quiet, but they still reverberated off the stone walls. Stefan flinched just barely at the memories, but said nothing. Katherine smiled, seeing the tiny stumble in composure. She stepped forward slowly, not in caution, but in a taunt. Stefan stayed where he was, but his body was tense.

"You should make yourself comfortable Stefan," she said, drawing even closer, placing a hand on his shoulder, running a finger along its contours. "You're going to be here a while."

Shrugging her off, Stefan shook his head.

"You underestimate Damon," Stefan said calmly.

Katherine laughed, the sound echoing around the cave.

"Stefan, you _over_estimate your brother. Do you _really _think he's going to rush to save you? Damon has exactly what he wants."

"And that would be what?" he asked, remaining calm despite the fact that she was trying to goad him on.

"You trapped and out of the way, leaving Elena to himself," Katherine explained simply. She leaned up against the wall, next to Stefan, and crossed her arms loosely.

Stefan had been shaking his head before she'd even finished.

"You don't believe me?" She asked. "You honestly don't think that Damon is already figuring out how to use your little predicament to his advantage? He's in love with her too you know."

"Katherine, I'm not blind, I can see that he loves her. But his humanity's coming back. He'll get me out," Stefan said, with a little less certainty.

Katherine smirked and fluttered her eyes darkly.

"You don't sound so sure of that now."

3~3~3

Bonnie brought her legs to her chest as she sat in bed. Wrapping an arm around her knees, she sighed and closed her eyes. What was she going to do about Jeremy and Luca? Jeremy was great-cute and sweet- but he was Elena's younger brother. Luca was a Warlock. She had some common ground to stand on with him. She had hated telling Jeremy that he couldn't feel anything for her, but there was just something about Luca, more than him being a Warlock, that reeled her in. There was an air of mystery that clouded around him and she found it intriguing.

_Tap tap tap. _

Bonnie jumped and her eyes shot open. _What was that? _She thought.

_Tap tap tap. _It came again.

Bonnie slipped of her bed and started tip-toeing towards the window. Drawing the curtains back, her eyes widened and she took a step back. Perched on the branch outside her window was Luca, posed to tap again. Quickly, Bonnie reached to unlatch the window and opened it for him to come in.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered as he climbed through the window.

Luca stopped right in front of her and said, "I wanted to see if everything was alright. I felt you channeling me earlier and it got pretty intense."

Bonnie blushed slightly at having got caught. But mentally he kicked herself. Of course he would have felt it.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I was just trying out a spell and I lost control." Even to herself she could hear the slight lie beneath the surface of her words, but if Luca had heard it too, he gave no indication that he had. Instead he looked intrigued.

"What kind of spell?" he asked.

Internally she groaned and scrambled for an idea of what to tell him. She felt bad having to hide her real actions from him, but she didn't have a choice.

"I- I was trying to contact my Grams. She died a few months ago and I thought maybe I could contact her."

_"Please don't ask me to show you. Please don't ask me to show you."_ She pleaded to herself. But Luca was shaking his head apologetically. His eyes were sad as he looked back at Bonnie.

"You can't contact the dead Bonnie. No matter what spell you might have found to try, you simply can't. Believe me, I've tried."

He was buying it. Relief flooded through her body. Determined to make this completely work, Bonnie looked down, not having to work too hard to fain the sadness on her face.

"Yeah, I figured as much," she sighed. Then, realizing he'd said that he'd tried before, she asked, "Who did you use to try and contact.

Luca's brow scrunched together and a hint of sadness touched his features.

"My mom. She died when I was about five and so after my dad started training me, I spent numerous nights trying to talk to her." He frowned. "But the point is, one of the limits we have is not being able to contact the dead."

Bonnie nodded and a single tear ran down her face as she thought about how she'd failed that night. Stefan was trapped because she wasn't strong enough to bring the barrier down. It was her fault.

Mistaking the tear for being for her grandmother, Luca reached forward and pulled her into a hug. There, he just let her cry until her tears ran dry. When she was finally finished, Bonnie pulled away and looked Luca square in the face. Determination burned in her eyes as a new idea sprung to her mind.

"Luca, do you know any way that I can make myself more powerful? Some way to gather more strength while casting a spell? Anything?"

She needed to figure out how to get Stefan out of that tomb and fast. If she didn't, he would soon start to deteriorate without any blood to drink.

If he was surprised by this question, he showed no sign of it. He just smiled.

"Yes, I do know a few tricks to draw extra power in," he said.

"Show me?" Bonnie asked.

"Follow me." Luca took her hand and led her towards the window, helping her out into the rainy night.


End file.
